mcneil



J. D. McNEIL.

TOBPEDO GUARD.

APPLICAHON FiLED NOV. 8. 1918 1,308,716. Patented July 1, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET JTH/LWWLZ.

Tm: COLUMBIA PLAHDGRAPII co., WASHINGTON. u. c.

J. D. McNElL.

TORPEDU GUARD.

APPLICATION FILED NOV-8.1918.

1 308,7 1 6 Patented July 1, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOLIRAPH c0. WASHINGTON, D. C.

20 so as to materially reduce the force of the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Joann. McNE-IL, or TRENTON', NOVA S OTIA, CANADA.

- To all whom z' t may concern:

;vented certain new and useful Improvements in Torpedo-Guards; and I .do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which 7 it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to torpedo guards, and more particularly to a guard of the net type specially adapted for use in connection with ships of ordinary construction.

One ofthe main objects of the invention is to provide a torpedo guard comprising nets which may be lowered about the sides of a ships hull, these nets being composed of several layers of wire of different mesh explosion of a torpedo which strikes the net. A further object is to provide simple and efficient means whereby the net may be readily lowered into operative position and, when not in use, may be secured closely ad jacent the sides of the ships hull so as to occupy comparatively small space and not materially interfere with passage of the ship through the'water.

f Further objects will appear from the dctailed description.

I constructed inv accordancerwith my inven In the drawings: Figure l is a top plan vlew of a ship of conventional construction showlng a guard tion applied.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through one side of'the ships hull showing the net in lowered position.

Fig. 3 is a similar view showingthe net raised.

Fig. A is an enlarged fragmentary plan showing the means for raising and lowering the net. I

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the connections between the lower tie rope and the connecting ropes for connecting the same to the net.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary detail of one of the nets showing the different meshes of wire employed.

In carrying my invention into effect, I provide a plurality of securing blocks 1 which are rigidly fastened to the sides of I the hull 2 of the ship, these blocks being Specification of Letters Patent.

TORPED O-GUARID.

Patented July 1 1919.

Applicationfiled November 8, 1918. Serial No. 261,637.

positioned a short distance above the nor mal water line. Each of the blocks 1 'is provided with a vertical bore of rectangular cross section which is adapted to snugly receive the vertical arm 3 of a rectangular or substantially L-shaped securing pin l. The upper or horizontal arm 3 of this pin ispivotally secured by a pivot pin 3 in. the inner end of a bar or spreader 5 provided at its outer end with a ring 6 and a central longitudinally projecting pin 7 Pin 7 loosely receives ring 6 which is inserted through a lower link 8, this lower link being secured to the upper edge portion of a not designated generally by 10. The number of spreaders 5 will necessarily depend to a great extent upon the size of the ship, these spreaders extending from a short distance in rear of the bow of the ship to within a short distance of the stern, as in Fig. 1.' To prevent looseness or play of the spreaders, a spacing and tie rope or cable 11 is secured through the links 8 of the various spreaders, this cable being also passed about the bow of the ship and acting to support the forward portions of the nets. The ends of this cable are led upwardly through eyes 12 secured to the sides of the ship adjacent the stern thereof, and are then secured about cleats 13 fastened to the deck. By tensioning these cables and securing them in the manner stated, the spreaders will be held securely against all looseness or play, .so as to maintain the nets in proper position.

A lifting and tie rope 14 is secured at its outer end through the upper ring, the inner end portion of this rope being secured about a cleat 15 fastened to the deck adjacent the sides thereof. In practice, one of these lifting and tie ropes is provided for each spreader, and these ropes serve to maintain the spreaders in proper position for supporting the nets. The nets are provided, at their lower edges, with spaced links 16 secured therethrough, these links receiving the outer ends of relatively short connecting cables 17 the inner ends of which are spliced to the lower tie ropes 18 which are threaded through eyes 19 secured in spaced relation at opposite sides of the keel 20 of the ship. These tie ropes 18 are led upwardly at the stern of the ship through eyes 21 and have their end portions secured about cleats 22. When the lower tie ropes are tensioned, and the spreaders raised as in Fig. '3.

are in the position shown in Fig. 2, the nets are extended and held at an upward inclination away from the hull of the ship so as to prevent contact of torpedoes there.- with. By slacking the lower tie ropes 18 and the cable 11, the spreaders 5 may be raised manually by means of the ropes 1a and secured in raised position so as to bring the nets into position-closely adjacent, the side of the ship, the net occupying but slight space when thus raised, as shown in Fig. 3. To move the nets into extended or operative'position, the operation is reversed, the lower tie ropes being tensioned and the spreaders extended so as to support the nets as shown. 7

The net, designated generally by 10, is formed of three separate layers of wire mesh which are maintained in'spaced parallel relation by spacing strips 23 to which the layers of wire mesh are secured in any suitable manner, these strips being so relatively disposed as to hold the net in proper shape while permitting the same to fit snugly about the side of the ship hull when of the net is composed of a diamond mesh wire fabric, the central layer 25 being of a, round mesh and the inner layer 26 being of square mesh. By using layers of wire of different mesh, the strands of the wires of these different layers tend to overlap so as to form a comparatively close fabric structure which tends to greatly reduce the force of the explosion of a torpedo striking the net and to protect the ship, to a great extent, from serious injury.

It will be evident that there may be slight changes made in the construction and arrangement of the details of my invention withoutdeparting from the field and scope of the same, and I intend to include all.

such variations, as fall within the scope of the appended claims, in this application in which a preferred form only of my invention is disclosed.

hat I claim is: r

1. The combination with a ships hull,

V of a plurality of spreader members mounted on said hull at their inner ends for rock- The outer layer 24 ing movement about horizontal axes, means forraising and lowering said members, nets having their upper edges secured tothe outer ends of the spreader members so as to be raised and lowered thereby in accordance with adjustment of said members, and means for attaching the lower edges of the nets to the ships hull so as to cause said nets to be extended upwardly and outwardly therefrom when the spreader members arein lowered position. V

2. The combination with a ships' hull, of a plurality of spreader members-pivotally secured thereto at their inner ends for rocking movement about horizontal axes, means for raising and lowering said members, nets extending about the hull of 3. The combination with a ships hull,

of I spreader members pivotally secured to the sides thereof for rocking movement about horizontal axes, means for raising and lowering said members and for securing the same in adjustment, nets having their upper edges secured to the spreader members adjacent the outer'ends thereof, eye members secured to the keel of said hull atopposite sides thereof, tie ropes led through said eyes, and flexible members connecting the lower edges of the nets to saidtie ropes so as to cause tensioning of the nets when the tie ropes are tensioned and .the spreader members are lowered, zwhi'le permitting lifting of the nets by raising of'said spreader members when the tie ropes are. slack.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN D. MoNEIL. Witnesses:

EDITH SULLIVAN, SADIE M. PETTIS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner "of Patents,

Washington,]). 0'. 

